It had been two years since the Breach was sealed for good and nothing remained of it but a scar in the sky.

Two years since Corypheus was destroyed and, for Alistair, much of that time had been filled with hunting down pockets of Venatori cultists, rogue Templars and numerous more bandits and other unsavory individuals who'd take advantage of the unrest to set up their own operations and were none too happy to return the land or buildings to their former owners.

Soon after Corypheus' defeat, Leliana had been elected as the new Divine. Alistair was relieved, having feared it would be Grand Cleric Victoire, or one of her allies, though it did take away his most trusted advisor within the Inquisition. At least he could trust her judgement and had no doubt Leliana would be able to keep the Chantry in line.

She proved worthy of his trust when Fiona set up the College of Enchanters as a replacement for the Circles with the Divine's full support. No longer would mages be oppressed at the hands of Templars, forced to live in fear. It made Alistair hopeful of a better future for his son.

The Grey Wardens were slowly rebuilding, though there was no word from Kallian of her return. Alistair heard rumours the Wardens of the South had severed ties with Weisshaupt and, knowing Hawke had headed there, was concerned. He had been out of touch with the Grey Wardens for a while, but when he had last been at Weisshaupt, it had been clear they preferred to be isolated.

Morrigan declared her intention to leave Skyhold as soon as it was safe to do so, but Alistair was concerned she and Kieran would be targets so long as he was the Inquisitor. The Inquisition itself was slow to disband though, and Alistair had been aware she was growing impatient.

Fiona even offered to take Kieran to the College with her but her own position was still precarious and Alistair didn't want to take any chances.

Alistair didn't see why he had to remain involved with the Inquisition, except perhaps as a figurehead, but none of his advisors were willing to let him go, especially after Leliana and Cassandra left for other duties. He wasn't willing to leave it to Cullen certainly, even with Josephine's support; she would want to leave too, eventually, but their commander had nowhere else to go.

After Flemeth's death, Morrigan had been increasingly restless, spending long hours locked away with her eluvian. She had warned Alistair of someone else using the network, surely either Solas or related to him in some way, but they had agreed it was too much of a risk for her to follow up alone.

Then one morning Alistair awoke to an empty bed and their chambers cleared of all hers and Kieran's belongings. Only the eluvian remained but it was closed, nothing more than an empty frame. At least, if even he didn't know where Morrigan was, it would be harder for an enemy to find them but that was cold comfort.

Alistair is keen to see the Inquisition through; they had been the predominant military force in the region and they cannot afford the chaos which would follow if it vanished overnight nor risk what might rise up to fill the void it leaves.

It is with this in mind, Alistair receives an invitation to attend the Exalted Council in Orlais to discuss the future of the Inquisition. Celene still reigns and the Empire's ties to the Inquisition remain strong, with both sides benefitting from the arrangement. Alistair can't imagine the Empress would be delighted to lose such a strong partner.

Although he is suspicious of the council's motives, Alistair is still keen to see the Inquisition wrapped up now the threat of Corypheus is gone so he accepts.

Josephine sends invitations far and wide and some of his closer companions are returning especially for the council, amongst them Varric from Kirkwall and Dorian all the way from Tevinter. It is good to catch up with everyone, hear what they have been up to.

Alistair is initially relieved to find Arl Teagan attending as the representative of Ferelden. They have had little time to catch up but his foster uncle is distant, under pressure from Anora to ensure Ferelden's best interests are not forgotten, and reminded of his own grievances by being in Orlais. Teagan assures him Redcliffe is well and Connor has joined the College to further his studies but is unwilling to discuss the Inquisition before the Council proper begins.

He also gets the opportunity to meet the Orlesian representative, Cyril de Montfort, before the opening of the council. Alistair isn't sure what to make of the man; he sounds sincere when he talks of friends who lost their lives at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, but it goes against his instinct to trust an Orlesian to be telling the whole truth. They dissemble as easily as they breath.

Leliana pulls Alistair aside before the council begins to remind him of his duty as the Inquisitor, and his responsibility to those who relied on the Inquisition for protection.

"You don't think maybe it is time for the Inquisition to lay down its swords?" Alistair asks her.

Leliana gives him a bright smile. "We set out to restore peace and now peace is upon us. You and I have come so far through the darkness together. Whatever you decide I will be honored to stand beside you.

There is a great deal of pomp involved, and dress uniforms. The Empress Celene turns up for the opening ceremonies and then disappears to her quarters with Briala, who had arrived separately.

Alistair isn't certain if Teagan's remarks are aimed at the Inquisition or the Orlesians, but he is disappointed when Teagan acts as though he expects Alistair to be reluctant to disband the Inquisition, as though he hadn't been there when Alistair had had to argue with Eamon about turning down the throne in favour of Anora.

Teagan takes the opportunity to remind the council of the ancient grievances against the Grey Wardens for abetting the Orlesians in occupying Ferelden. "Now the Inquisition is doing the same thing with Grey Wardens in their ranks." Alistair knows it is the one choice of his that Teagan truly doesn't understand but he thought they had come to an understanding.

De Montfort doesn't help by defending the Grey Wardens, and Alistair wonders if that is deliberate. It would surely suit the Orlesians to drive a wedge between them. Alistair can certainly understand Teagan's concerns.

The Orlesians feign sympathy but the direction of their play is clear; they will say they support the Inquisition but with greater oversight and that isn't where it will end. Alistair isn't especially interested in becoming Celene's private army.

Before they can really get into discussions, a messenger appears at his side saying, "Divine Victoria wishes to speak with you."

Alistair turns his eyes up to Leliana who is seated at the main dais between Teagan and de Montfort. She gives a tiny incline of her head.

"I have to, uh, use the bathroom," Alistair tells Josephine awkwardly. She frowns at him as he stands and everyone's faces turn to him. Alistair knows he ought to come up with a better excuse but his mind goes blank.

Fortunately Leliana takes the opportunity to call a short recess. It still takes him a few minutes to get clear of all the hangers-on and find her in a small guard room off the courtyard.

On the floor was a Qunari, dead, dressed as a warrior, one of the Antaam, not a spy.

"One of my guards found him," Leliana tells Alistair. "And thought to warn me immediately."

"What do you think he was doing here?" Alistair asks, all sorts of possibilities running through his head.

"The Iron Bull may no longer be in the Ben-Hassrath's favour, but he is certain he would have heard if it was an official mission," she says. Alistair isn't sure where she found the time to ask already.

"So there are still some things you don't know?" Alistair teases her, to distract from the seriousness of the situation.

Leliana manages a smile. "Indeed. And I feel this is of greater important than the council. Inquisitor, would you lead the investigations on my behalf?"

Alistair agrees and takes his companions to follow the blood trail, which leads to a set of unused rooms, furniture covered in dust sheets, and in one room, an eluvian. Though Alistair remembers Morrigan's warning, he doesn't see any alternative to entering it.

They follow the trail to The Crossroads where the warrior had apparently tried to get through a different unworking eluvian first, before doubling back to an another which takes them to a ruined elven-looking building.

It doesn't seem from the chill in the air as though they're even in Orlais anymore. The trail continues here, leading to an open balcony with another eluvian, more dead Qunari and three apparent statues of Qunari warriors. The statues are surprisingly life-like and the bodies are surrounded by scorch marks. Something about the scene makes Alistair feel uneasy.

This eluvian takes them only a short distance; the architecture and scenery all appear the same and, on an island, they see Qunari fighting. There are the remains of a bridge, with an empty pedestal but no obvious way of crossing. Trying to reach them by eluvian, they find themselves instead at the foot of a tower, where they encounter a group of half a dozen spirit warriors, who greet them in elven.

Alistair tries responding likewise but either he is even less fluent than he realised and just insulted their mothers, or more like they were looking for a specific password which he had failed to give, and they attacked. They were tough but no real threat.

They search around the tower until they find a glowing green panel. Alistair reaches out and the anchor flares to meet it. He feels a wave of warm, welcoming energy pass over him, accompanied by images: fleeing slaves being greeted with kindness and words more felt than heard, "Fen'Harel bid you welcome."

Well, that was unexpected. Would they actually find Solas here or was this simply an ancient relic of his previous life? The panel evaporated, leading into a room with another eluvian, which takes them to another tower, around the same lake.

As they explore, Alistair thinks he catches sight of a cloaked figure turning the corner. He follows, but it remains just ahead. A spirit, he thinks, of smoke and purple flame, like those they had already fought. Was it these who had attacked and wounded the Qunari?

When he reaches the top of the stairs there is nothing there but the body of another Qunari and another glowing panel. Again, he feels that warm, hopeful energy and sees a vision: Solas clasping the arm of a freed slave and assuring them he is as mortal as they.

This time when the panel vanishes, it reveals a staircase leading down, lit by torches. At the bottom is another panel but the sensation this time is unpleasant, bitter fury at the visions of elven mages, the Evanuris, enslaving other elves, demanding their worship. Well, Solas had implied as much before.

Something rises up inside him, and at first Alistair thinks it is the ruins, the stream of foreign emotions, but then the Anchor, for so long mostly dormant, bursts with power and with light, causing him to cry out at the sudden flare of pain. He can feel it accumulating energy again already.

The others look at him uneasily so he jokes, "At least I can use it as a torch now."

Cassandra cracks a smile but Sera seems less convinced. The room appears to be a dead end but searching it reveals a figurine which looks as though it will fit the pedestal by the broken bridge. Perhaps it could fix it?

They turn back the way they had come. Placing the figurine on the pedestal triggers some sort of ancient grinding mechanism and the missing section of the bridge rises from beneath the water, and settles neatly into place. There is no longer fighting on the other side; in fact, when Alistair reaches the site he finds the dead bodies of Qunari but of who, or what, had they been fighting there is no sign.

Though they discover not all the Qunari had been killed, as a unit charges towards them. It is a relief to have someone to fight, rather than chasing shadows, but Alistair would sooner have answers.

They push on, stumbling into a battle between the spirits and the Qunari. Whatever the spirits are, Alistair doesn't have time to worry, only hoping they might recognise that the enemy of their enemy could be a friend. He tries to avoid striking them, but they are not moved.

Cassandra insists the Qunari must have been given orders to attack the Inquisition. Alistair doesn't like to think of Sten making that decision, but perhaps it was no longer his choice. And further, he remembers Leliana saying how The Iron Bull knew nothing of such an order.

At the far end of the hall, Alistair finds a pillar with the inscription. "The Dread Wolf keeps its gaze on the one light that illuminates the way forward." There is a wolf statue, looking to one side, and a number of scones.

Using a Veilfire torch, he lights the scone the statue is facing towards and the whole thing slides over revealing a hidden stairwell and, at the bottom a final panel. This one comes with a sense of determination and a vision of freed slaves, armed and faces unmarked by vallaslin, which is described as the 'brand of the Evanuris'. The implication makes Alistair shudder.

The door opens and they find themselves in an armory but the Qunari have got here first. On one of the bodies, Sera finds a set of orders about infiltrating Halamshiral, with the route of the eluvians marked out. Alistair takes it to pass to Leliana.

In one of the sleeping chambers they find a half-written letter, splattered with fresh blood. Apparently the spirits had been awakened only hours before by a masked and cloaked mage who moved through the ruins as though they knew them. Solas? Or a follower of his?

The eluvian here leads them back to where they had entered the ruins and they return to Halamshiral to warn the Exalted Council.

Leliana promises to investigate the threat further and Josephine reluctantly agrees to handle the diplomatic mess caused by the interruption of their talks whilst Cullen arranges for the eluvian to be placed under guard. Alistair wonders if he should mention the changes to the Anchor but decides he doesn't want to worry them for nothing.

He returns instead to the Crossroads to see what else can be discovered there. They see figures moving in the distance but cannot tell if they are more Qunari or the mysterious being who had triggered the spirits in the previous base or even spirits of the Fade.

Following the tracks, they come to a dead end and find an artefact which moves the paths, explaining how the Qunari had been able to get around. It is extremely disconcerting to watch the path literally build itself in front of them but it seems stable enough underfoot. Going through the eluvian, they find themselves in the Deep Roads.

This isn't a section Alistair recognises, but then again there are plenty of abandoned thaigs. There probably aren't many as big as this one though, and it seems the Qunari have quite an extensive set-up here. Alistair isn't sure how stable it is either, as there has clearly been a massive cave-in causing a deep chasm between their location and what looks to be the main Qunari camp.

While Alistair can't sense any darkspawn in the area, there are definitely deepstalkers around. They are trying to find an alternate route when, in a hideout in excavated caves, they stumble across a human who recognises Alistair as the Inquisitor.

"Please," he says. "What the Viddasala is doing... You have to stop her. I don't care whether you serve Fen'Harel or not."

That's an interesting turn of phrase. What has he, or indeed the Qunari, heard about Fen'Harel?

The man identifies himself as 'Ser' Jerran, formerly a Templar in Kirkwall, and Alistair has to swallow down his anger; they need his information, for now. Jerran tells them how agents of Fen'Harel have been attacking the Qunari in the Crossroads, carrying out acts of sabotage or setting spirits on them. It certainly doesn't sound like Solas is working alone.

Jerran explains this thaig is a centre for mining and processing lyrium for their saarebas, their enslaved mages. "It's part of something she calls 'Dragon's Breath.'" 'She' is presumably this 'Viddasala' and Jerran believe she intends to invade the southlands.

"So why are you telling us this?" Alistair asks. "What can we do to stop them?"

Jerran explains the Qunari are using their gaatlok to mine so they don't have to touch the pure lyrium. "If you get the primers, you can detonate it. The mines will go up in flames."

It sounds like as good a plan as any. They fight their way through the mine, finding the mining platforms and the primers, then return the way they had come, systematically destroying each of the structures. Each explosion clearly weakens the integrity of the cave, bringing rocks down from above and allowing water to flood in. They race back to the eluvian, through the rising flood waters, and back to the Crossroads and Halamshiral.

Back at the Winter Palace Josephine expresses her confusion about the Qunari's motivation. "But what made them decide that the Inquisition serves this Fen'Harel?" she asks.

Alistair considers once again telling them the whole story, but feels it would only complicate matters right now.

He is saved from giving an answer when Cyril de Montfort and Arl Teagan interrupt their discussions to report an incident between an Inquisition guard and an Orlesian servant. Alistair agrees to investigate but not before Teagan throws a number of accusations at him.

"Secrets and lies," Teagan snarls. "Do you understand why we fear your Inquisition? You act as if you're the solution to every problem."

Alistair has come to understand just how tempting that line of thought is but, at the same time, he just wants to go home and live in peace. "Let me handle this," he tells his uncle, attempting a placating tone and perhaps it works as Teagan reluctantly agrees to allow him to try.

In the courtyard Alistair finds two Inquisition guards standing over a servant, next to two metal containers which look suspiciously similar to the gaatlok they had just been handling in the Deep Roads.

The servant claims he was simply following orders to bring wine for the guests, though they don't look like any wine barrels Alistair has seen before.

Given the size of the crowd gathered around them, Alistair takes both the guard and the servant into custody, thinking it simpler than trying to work out what's going on in public. The guard hands him a note which she had found on the ground next to one of the barrels, which Alistair suspects to be in Qunlat. He needs to find Leliana to let her know the guard is the least of their problems.

"At least now we know the trick to the 'Dragon's Breath,'" she says, what he manages to catch up with her. She believes it is a code phrase for the gaatlok barrels, which appear to be an attempt at assassinating the Exalted Council but Alistair isn't quite convinced.

He passes her the note which Leliana translate as instructions on where the Qunari agent was to place the barrels and which eluvian they should use to report back to this Viddasala.

"Maybe I'll drop in on her instead," Alistair suggests.

Leliana agrees he should follow it up so he makes preparations, including speaking to The Iron Bull, who recognises the name, Viddasala, as being a high-ranking Ben-Hassrath agent who was the closest thing the Qunari had to an expert on magic.

Returning to the Crossroads, Alistair searches for this eluvian, eventually finding what appears to be a ruined library, shelves taller than him full of moldy, crumbling books, flanking an eluvian.

On the other side, they find matching shelves within a half-destroyed room, open to the elements on one side with torn pages scattered across the floor.

"It definitely saw a massive magical backlash some time ago," Dorian says.

Alistair wonders if this is another ancient elven homeland. Investigating further reveals reveals massive floating structures outside, almost as though they were in the Fade, but there aren't enough demons for that.

Turning a corner, they come across a faded spirit, barely more than a wisp of energy in the air, which greets them in elvish. Alistair is cautious after the previous ones but it is welcoming, switching to Trade and speaking of sharing knowledge. She tells them the Qunari can be found by the lower gate.

Alistair knows their quest is urgent but he cannot resist asking about this place and the spirit explains it is the Vir Dirthara, a meeting place for the combined knowledge of the Empire. She struggles to tell them more about the ancient elves, memories too badly fractured, but does warn them to beware of the librarians, recently awoken by a stranger, not with the Qunari. Perhaps Solas or another of his agents?

Continuing on, they spot a group of Qunari on an inverted island and another of the artefacts which builds pathways but it isn't enough to reach them. However, as they pass through another eluvian to investigate further, the Anchor flares up unexpectedly. It's definitely getting worse; the energy sparks out around him and Alistair fears it might harm anyone standing too close. Though he supposes it could be useful against enemies.

The library is a maze of eluvians leaded to ruined and sundered rooms, sudden drops and the remnants of mosaics, murals and strange sculptures in what had clearly once been a beautiful place.

They encounter a couple of groups of Qunari, who attack them instantly, but eventually they are able to activate the artifacts and reconstruct the walkway. Returning to the central courtyard, they discover why the spirit had warned them about 'librarians'. Appearing as huge, multi-limbed, almost insectoid elves, the beings attack without mercy and are tough to put down.

Finally they make it back to their original starting point and cross to the inverted ward. "Survivor of the Breach," a mocking voice comes from higher up. "Herald of change. Hero of the South."

Alistair looks up. The Viddasala is a tall, striking Qunari in leather armour, with a large book strapped to her side. She astutely spots how the Anchor pains him, going on to tell them, "The Qun left your people to curb your own magic. You've amply proved we should have stepped in long ago."

"I defeating your Arishok in single combat," Alistair tells her, aware that is a gross oversimplification of what happened before he and Sten. "Why do you believe you will succeed?"

The Viddasala sneers at him. "The day we saw the Breach, the Qun decided its action. We would remove your leaders and spare those who toil. This agent of Fen'Harel has disrupted everything."

Whoever this agent is, Alistair is more grateful to them than anything else, but he refuses to admit that to the Viddasala.

She turns away as thought frustrated by his lack of response, leaving a half dozen Qunari warriors to slow them down.

After the fight is over, they search the area for clues as to where she might have headed and find a sheaf of notes, with a handful of sections translated into the common tongue describing how the Qunari learned of an elven mage who made the Veil to strip power from his excessive rulers.

The note writer seems to consider the mage in question a great hero since the Veil protects them from the Fade. Alistair imagines they would be very disappointed to learn their hero and Fen'Harel were the same person.

One of the archivist's spirits aids them in following the Viddasala, telling Alistair they heard her talk about taking a keystone to the Darvaarad. Varric admits he found something on one of the Qunari bodies which could be a keystone and the spirit tells them they also need a passphrase, "Maraas nehraa" to open the way.

They return to the Winter Palace to restock and update Leliana first. She has bad news for them: barrels of gaatlok, have been found at significant locations around Thedas. Worse, it seems someone within the Inquisition was responsible for the gaatlok found here at the palace.

As Josephine and Cullen argue over the Inquisition's course of action, Alistair wonders if now is the time to tell Leliana about Solas.

"We did what was right," Cullen insists. "Not what was politically convenient."

Josie looks as though she might cry with anger. "Do you know what this has cost us with Orlais and Ferelden? They are planning to dismantle us as we speak. And perhaps they are right."

Alistair is about to intervene when the Anchor flares again, worse than ever, causing him to cry out in pain and almost doubling over, clutching at his hand, his wrist as the pain expands out from the original mark. When he can look up again, the others have gathered around him, looking worried and sympathetic in equal measure.

"So, that's how to stop you arguing," he jokes. Alistair holds up his hand, energy still flickering outwards. "So, it's been getting worse," he admits. "I don't know how much time I've got left but my luck had to run out at some point." He thinks of Morrigan, of Kieran. He could probably find them from the Crossroads instead of the Viddasala but he knows he has a duty to perform. "The Qunari need to be stopped. So I need to get to the Darvaarad while I can still fight."

Josephine stumbles over her words as she asks if they should inform the Exalted Council of the danger. Alistair cannot understand why they haven't given them some warning already.

"I will inform them personally," Leliana says and, when Alistair catches her eyes, she nods and he knows she will be careful not to give Teagan any cause to worry about him.

Cullen agrees to put guards in place in case Qunari attack through the eluvian and Alistair heads out again.

Back at the Crossroads, the eluvian which had previously been inactive, the one smeared in blood, now shimmers into life as they approach. On the other side, the Darvaarad turns out to be a fortress, the entry filled with eluvians, largely shattered, stacked one on top of the other.

They fight their way through Qunari patrols until they reach a massive locked door. Searching around, they find the gatekeepers' logs, including what appears to be the recipe for the primers on their explosive devices.

"Didn't you say 'ataashi' means 'dragon'?" Alistair asks Bull, as he looks through the instructions.

"Surely Dragon's Breath isn't referring to an actual dragon?" Dorian demands.

Alistair hopes not but he can't discount anything at this point. They work the winding gear to unlock the massive lock and find themselves inside a barracks.

In a study, Alistair spots an Inquisition seal and finds a letter from Josephine to the Salasari asking about the Qunari's agents in Halamshiral. There is a reply denying knowledge of any such operations and advising the Qun are seeking out the Ben-Hassrath priest who is leading the unauthorised operation but whether it was ever sent, or actually received by the Inquisition he cannot know.

They find a letter instructing that the 'Dragon's Breath' must continue regardless of concerns at the Winter Palace. It goes on to refer to the 'specimen' required to extract venom for gaatlok and how the creature will be 'extinguished' when 'Dragon's Breath' is complete. It must be a dragon.

Finally, they enter the gaatlok powder factory, seeing the scale of the Qunari's plan. In the distance, they can indeed see a dragon and then the Viddasala on a high balcony. She orders the Qunari in the area to attack the Inquisition and turns to The Iron Bull.

"Hissrad," she says. "Now is the time."

Alistair looks to Bull, surely she doesn't mean it as it sounds but the Charger is shaking his head.

"I can't do that, ma'am," he says emphatically.

The Viddasala looks surprised but then the battle is underway and Alistair can't keep watching her. They fight on until they reach the chamber where the dragon is kept. The beast is a mottled green, and clearly still resisting its captivity.

It's clear the Qunari need the dragon for their plan to succeed and so they need to kill it to thwart that plan. As they wear it down, the Qunari send in warriors to defend the dragon, but they are equally likely to get caught in the dragon's crossfire.

As dragons go, it isn't the hardest fight Alistair has experienced, the tight quarters working more to their favour than to its. They make it past the dragon to see the Viddasala sending her warriors through yet another eluvian. The Anchor choses that point to flare and Alistair stumbles to a halt.

The Viddasala turns back, looking down on him in pity. "Dear Inquisitor," she says, in a mocking tone, "You have so little time left. You must finally see the truth. The agents of Fen'Harel must be stopped."

Through gritted teeth, Alistair ripostes, "You know, mass assassination isn't exactly a good moral high ground."

She shakes her head at him. "The South was poisoned by these elven abominations, it suffers just as you do now."

Does she not realise he is part-elven? Or perhaps she just doesn't care.

"You would have died from the mark on your hand," she continues, "if not for the help of one of their chief agents."

Alistair suddenly feels cold. Who does she mean? Morrigan? Fiona? Does she know about Mythal?

"The same agent who helped seal the Breach," the Viddasala declaims, "who led you to Skyhold, who gave Corypheus the Orb then founded the Inquisition. Solas, agent of Fen'Harel." She looks proud of her 'revelation.'

Distantly Alistair registers Cassandra's disbelief even as he struggles to keep a straight face. "Solas? An agent of Fen'Harel? Is that what you know?"

The Viddasala apparently misinterprets his question. "Did you not know? Solas tricked us all. He pushed a dying Qunari into the palace to lure you into opposing us."

"He could have just sent a note," Alistair quips instinctively but, at that moment, the Anchor flares again, dropping him to his knees. The waves of power are coming so fast now, he isn't sure how much further he will make it before it overwhelms him.

"If it is any consolation," she tells him. "Solas will not outlive you." Before he can catch his breath to reply, she leaves with the last of her guards.

Alistair forces himself back to his feet, as the others express their shock at the news. This is hardly the time for a long discussion so he tells them firmly, "Solas is the only one who can help with my mark, we need to find him before Viddasala does."

They follow the Viddasala through, finding themselves in another set of elven-looking ruins. There is no-one in sight, though she cannot have gotten far. They can see figures running in the distance but then Alistair stumbles as pain shoots through his arm.

The Anchor starts to crackle and he has just enough time to cry, "Everyone back," before it discharges like a lightning strike all around him. He doesn't doubt that if anyone had been close enough it would have burned them.

He has a chance to test that theory only moments later as Qunari appear from the eluvian in front of them. When Alistair focuses, he can feel the power building up, faster now than before and it can't be long until it overflows next.

Back when the Breach was still open, he could have used the power to close portals, now he is only able to discharge it at enemies and hope it is enough. The resulting blast leaves the Qunari attackers reeling, blackened and easy targets for Bull to finish off.

Once the Qunari are defeated, that eluvian takes them into an overgrown valley and they spot the Viddasala and a Qunari mage on a high point, besides another eluvian. Even with the added boost to their firepower from the Anchor, and Alistair has no choice but to use it against their enemy since the power is building up so quickly, they don't manage to catch up with the Qunari leaders before they push onwards.

They continue to track the Viddasala through multiple eluvians and fight the forces she has set to delay them. Alistair knows they must be wearing her forces down when she orders her mage, Saarath, to attack them.

His barrier is tough and, as soon as they work through it he teleports away. Before they can finish him, the mage breaks free of his controlling helmet and flees, despite the Viddasala's shouts and threats.

Alistair would like to hope the mage might find his way to freedom but, given the extent to which the Qunari brainwash their 'saarebas' he fears otherwise.

They finally find the Viddasala, apparently alone. "You are dead already, Inquisitor," she taunts, as Alistair rushes her but the mage teleports in between them.

Alistair wishes he knew how to break through the conditioning but they do not have the time. Then Saarath summons demons and Alistair feels less charitable towards him.

He seems somehow bound to the barrier around the eluvian, which looks more permanent, more special, than those which have gone before, almost as though the castle has crumbled around it. Alistair can feel the energy rising in the Anchor and tells the others to keep a safe distance before it discharges taking out Saarath and the barrier.

Somehow Alistair knows this is the eluvian which will take him to Solas and he takes a deep breath, stepping forwards.